The Scottish Premiership may already be out of reach, but Rangers are aiming to claim Old Firm bragging rights at the start of 2025.
It’s been a tough season for Philippe Clement’s Gers, with the 2020/21 Scottish champions already 14 points back from runaway leaders Celtic. Few are confident over Clement’s capacity to restore Rangers to the promised land, and a heavy defeat at Ibrox on Thursday could condemn the Belgian to the chopping block.
While this fixture remains one of the fiercest in world football, it’s been dominated by the Hoops in recent years. Rangers have failed to win any of the previous seven meetings, and they head into this derby in sub-par form.
Here’s the team Clement could pick for Celtic’s visit to kick-off the new year.
GK: Jack Butland – There are no doubts over Butland’s number-one status heading into the new year. Butland has started 17 games in the league this season and racked up more minutes than any Rangers player.
RB: Dujon Sterling – Injuries have thrust Sterling into a starting role as of late, with the Englishman, who’s also adept in midfield, potentially shifting over to right-back with James Tavernier out injured.
CB: Leon King – The 20-year-old is in line for a rare start on the big occasion after Tavernier’s injury. King hasn’t played a single league minute this season, but centre-back absences may force Clement’s hand.
CB: Leon Balogun – Balogun missed Sunday’s draw at Motherwell after picking up a knock on Boxing Day, but Clement desperately needs him back marshalling the Rangers defence.
LB: Ridvan Yilmaz – Yilmaz’s career in Glasgow has never quite gotten off the ground, and he’s a name to keep an eye on during the January transfer window amid reports of a potential return to Turkiye.
CM: Mohamed Diomande – A regular for Clement this term, Diomande is a versatile customer capable of performing multiple roles. The midfielder scored in Rangers’ Scottish League Cup final defeat in December.
CM: Nicolas Raskin – Clement’s compatriot is an industrious operator who’s seemingly never too far away from a booking. Ibrox will turn to Raskin to ignite the crowd once or twice on Thursday.
RM: Vaclav Cerny – The loanee has enjoyed a pretty productive loan spell thus far, scoring seven times in the Scottish Premiership. The trigger-happy Czech joins Cyril Dessers at the top of the Rangers goal contributions chart this term.
AM: Nedim Bajrami – The scorer of Albania’s 23-second strike against Italy at Euro 2024 hasn’t offered too much by way of final third production this term, but he’s a relentless operator who performs a key tactical function for Clement.
LM: Ianis Hagi – Rangers do have several options in wide areas, especially after Rabbi Matondo returned from injury at the weekend, but we could see Hagi get the nod down the left to get at Alistair Johnston.
ST: Hamza Igamane – Igamane is adept out wide, but he may get a starting berth up top on Thursday given the scoring form he’s manifested in recent weeks. The 22-year-old scored twice off the bench to rescue a point at Motherwell last time out.
